More than 1,400 people with dementia who are well enough to go home will be stranded in hospital on Christmas Day, the Alzheimer's Society said. Charity bosses blamed a lack of social care funding for "turning wards into waiting rooms" as their investigation revealed dementia patients were delayed up to…

The NHS continues to miss key cancer waiting times, as new figures showed a third of patients in one health board area had to wait more than two months for treatment to get underway. NHS data showed that from July to September 87.2% of all cancer patients across Scotland started…

A campaign group backed by Professor Stephen Hawking has officially filed High Court papers in a bid to force the Government to hold a full public consultation into greater privatisation of the NHS. The physicist announced on Friday he was putting his weight behind a campaign by JR4NHS to stop…

An NHS Trust whose chairman resigned in protest at Government funding has been put into special measures. The former head of the civil service, Lord Kerslake, quit as chairman of King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in south London on Sunday, warning that the health service could not continue "staggering…

A new treatment which can halt the spread of breast cancer for up to two years for terminally ill patients has been approved for use by the NHS in Scotland. Campaigners welcomed the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC)'s backing for the drug palbociclib, hailing it as a "wonderful decision" and "great…

A fundamental review of the NHS is needed to address a financial crisis, Lord Kerslake said, after quitting as the boss of a major hospital trust in protest at funding problems. The former head of the civil service, who resigned as chairman of King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in…

A children's unit at a busy hospital will close for a day because of staff shortages. Bosses at NHS Lothian announced the children's short stay assessment unit at St John's Hospital in Livingston will be closed on Saturday December 9. Staffing and recruitment issues forced the health board to close…

The NHS is under "severe pressure" as it faces potentially the worst flu season in two decades, health service experts have warned. NHS Providers said the health service in England would be "sorely tested" during the colder months, when there was traditionally a significant rise in demand for services due…